Astro Camera

night-by-night colour sweeps and stacks with a camera facing north and towards the pole and zenith
The Astro Camera: a clear plastic box taped shut, on a wooden arm outside the window above the garden
Pi 4 and v3 camera in a sandwich box from an upstairs window. The white triangle is a lens cover driven by the Pi with an SG90 servo (not visible, far outside of box). The lens is covered with a phone protector glass.
per-night brightness curves overlaid
astrocam v3
brightness curves (and an old reference) for a week. Clouds are bright in the suburbs and overcast is about 8, deep darkness about 4. 4 stops or bits is 16x more photons. The pedestal is 6 bits and must be greater than the electrical noise of the sensor.
30 Jul–5 Augbrowse all nights →
2026-08-05
2026-08-05367/402 · 4.7 bits
2026-08-04
2026-08-04274/397 · 4.6 bits
2026-08-03
2026-08-03366/393 · 5.0 bits
2026-08-02
2026-08-02143/389 · 5.0 bits
2026-08-01
2026-08-01357/385 · 5.1 bits
2026-07-31
2026-07-31125/381 · 5.2 bits
2026-07-30
2026-07-3071/377 · 5.4 bits